“As a software developer,” says Brown CS alum Gaurav Manek, “it is your duty to society to make sure that your code is reliable and doesn’t fall apart.” For the last four years, Gaurav — now a PhD student at Carnegie Mellon University — has been developing Visigoth, a piece of software that automatically creates schedules based on the availability of participants. Now, Brown CS and a number of departments at other universities are adopting the software to handle the logistics that surround PhD visit days.
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The theme of this letter is inspired by an artistic work created by one of our Computer Science graduates of the Class of 2020.
Recent studies show that, in developing regions (e.g. Africa and Southeast Asia), fast internet connectivity lifted approximately 2.5 million people out of extreme poverty [1] and techniques to improve web performance (e.g. Google’s AMP) improved profit by 20% [2]. Given these studies, it is unsurprising that significant work and effort have gone into improving connectivity in these regions. These efforts range from improving the mobile networks (from 2G to 4G and now 5G) and improving networking infrastructure to reducing the cost of mobile data rates and increasing the amount of local language content. Although these efforts offer tremendous benefits, a …
This past Fall, 2021 semester in CSCI 1951C Designing Humanity Centered Robots, students explored how emerging technologies might shape our lives in the near future. They did this through designing and building working prototypes that explore the “how” and “why” of new technologies. The class is taught by Ian Gonsher, Assistant Professor of the Practice in the School of Engineering and Department of Computer Science at Brown University. His course attempts to foster a creative, collaborative environment for students that allows for the development of working prototypes that integrate both hardware and software.
Brown CS alum Jina Yoon has had an accomplished career thus far and continues to succeed and grow in the tech industry. One of her recent honors is being awarded the Computer and Information Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship 2021. This NSF CSGrad4US fellowship aims to increase the number of diverse, domestic graduate students pursuing careers in the fields of computer science, computer engineering, or information science. More specifically, CSGrad4US offers an opportunity for bachelor degree holders who are working in industry, like Jina, to return to academia and pursue research-based doctoral degrees. The fellowship is a two year-long preparation …
Just because someone graduates with a Computer Science degree doesn’t mean they’re destined for a life of programming, with little input on the government policies that might affect their work. TechCongress, a unique program that enables technologists to advise Members of Congress on technology policy, is just one example of the many unique opportunities there are for CS graduates. Brown CS alum Eleanor Tursman was a “CS graduate student that didn’t like to code”. TechCongress has given her the opportunity to apply her knowledge to something she feels could make a huge difference.
"One huge highlight of my work is the effect and impact my projects have had on others,” says Brown CS alum Jemma Issroff, whose career path has allowed her to work on a wide variety of projects as podcast host, author, and backend software developer. She’s an excellent example of someone who’s able to work on highly technical challenges while still having an effect on the communities that matter to her. After several different experiences as a programmer, Jemma has found a home at Shopify, doing work that she feels has a true impact on users.
Irv Lustig ‘83 P’13, a Brown CS alum, has been named one of twelve 2021 INFORMS Fellows, an acknowledgement of a lifetime of achievement. INFORMS Fellows are examples of significant contributors in operations research and the management sciences, and Irv’s award comes from having demonstrated exceptional accomplishments as both an academic and in the optimization software industry. Irv has also contributed via service to the profession by volunteering on numerous INFORMS committees, including starting a project to do oral history interviews of luminaries in operations research. As many of Irv's INFORMS colleagues have written, Irv’s recognition was long overdue.
My name is Madeline Greenberg and I am the Project Manager for ‘Choreorobotics 0101’ – the first course to be cross-listed across the TAPS and CS departments. I have been organizing the Choreorobotics Initiative at Brown for the past 6 months, corralling teams of undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and staff as we work to develop the course’s curriculum.
Choreorobotics is novel. What that means is that we don’t know what we’re doing. We are each experts, incredibly competent and hard working in various fields including but not limited to choreographics and robotics, but we’re entirely making this up as …
